Judge tours River Birch offices to help determine if federal raid went too far

U.S. District Judge Ginger Berrigan took an unusual fact-finding tour of the River Birch landfill's Gretna offices this morning to evaluate the firm's claim that a September federal raid exceeded the scope of a search warrant.

Ted Jackson, The Times-PicayuneU.S. District Judge Ginger Berrigan, center, visits the River Birch Landfill's Gretna offices for a fact-finding trip Friday, February 4, 2011 to evaluate the firm's claim that a federal raid exceeded the scope of a search warrant.

Berrigan spent about 30 minutes in the three-story brick building at 2000 Belle Chasse Highway, where federal agents investigating the landfill's $160 million garbage-disposal contract with Jefferson Parish had seized computers and 25 boxes of documents Sept. 23.

"I saw a lot of interesting things," Berrigan said in response to a question from a reporter. She declined to elaborate.

River Birch attorneys said the search was illegal because the agents confiscated property belonging to six other businesses not named in the warrant.

The government countered that the search was legal because the other firms, mostly businesses run by landfill owner Fred Heebe, share office space with River Birch on the third floor, where there were "no partitions or identifying marks" to differentiate the businesses.

River Birch filed a motion last month saying the government had failed to comply with her order. Government attorneys renewed their assertion that the search was legal, prompting Berrigan to decide to get a first-hand look at the offices.

Legal observers said such a tour is atypical but well within a judge's discretion to gather information about a case.

Berrigan arrived shortly before 10 a.m., wearing a bright red coat to guard against the chill and drizzle. She spoke with attorneys from both sides under an awning for several minutes before entering the former bank building.

In court documents filed in advance of Berrigan's visit, both sides played tour guide, pointing out things they wanted her to observe.

River Birch attorneys asked Berrigan to take note of the building directory at the main entrance listing the seven firms with offices on the third floor. The federal agent in charge of the raid has said he didn't see the directory, but the firm contends it is clearly visible to anyone who uses the entrance.

Meanwhile, the government asked Berrigan to focus on the lack of "separate, independent, identifying labels or placards" for the various businesses sharing common office space.

The government entered 140 photographs of the offices into the court record, including one showing a half-dozen empty pizza boxes on a counter, presumably from a lunch break during the 11-hour raid.

Federal agents launched an investigation of the company in late 2009 amid news media reports that an insurance agency co-owned by Tim Whitmer, top aide to former Parish President Aaron Broussard, was managing insurance policies for River Birch. Just months earlier, River Birch had won a $160 million contract to dispose of most of Jefferson Parish's household waste for the next 25 years.